Occupation of Gaipan
by T.J.98
Summary: When Captain Goro was ordered to annex Gaipan for the Fire Nation and turn it into an outpost for the military, he expected this to be an easy post. He did not expect a group of partisans living in the forest to make it their mission to hinder him, nor could he have anticipated the extreme lengths they'd go to in their war against the Fire Nation.
1. Chapter 1

It was a warm day when Captain Goro marched into the village of Gaipan. Behind him marched ten Firebenders, twelve swordsmen, eight crossbowmen, one healer, and four Earth Kingdom men they "conscripted" along the way to carry their baggage.

When he lead his men through the village, Captain Goro looked about at the occupants. They were peasants; woodsmen and trappers who survived off the forest. These brown-haired dirt-covered folk looked at the hearty Fire Nation Soldiers with fearful eyes - a few worked up the courage to glare.

_No matter; they will accept our rule if they know what is good for them. In time they will see the benefits of living under the Fire Lord. _

It seems these people already did know what was good for them, as they offered no resistance when the Fire Nation force reached them. How could they? They had only axes and sharpened stakes, no military training, and seemingly no benders. Against Captain Goro's small detachment they would never have stood a chance! Their sandstone walls were good for keeping out stray dogs, but would do little to deter men. All the better for Goro too; he preferred to avoid civilian casualties when he could, and he could wring more use out of these Earth Folk by using their labor than he could if he drove them out of their homes or slaughtered them. He doubted they had anything of value to loot.

There were only seven buildings in this village; six large longhouses, and one large hall at the end. He reckoned that each longhouse could comfortably fit twenty people, maybe thirty in a pinch, and that the hall could hold twice that number. Yet there seemed to barely be a hundred people in this village. Captain Goro wondered at that, though he was not surprised.

_Why is there so much space in this village? Did a large amount of the inhabitants die of some disease, or did they flee to Ba Sing Se like so many other foolish Earth Folk? Maybe there was a mass-conscription._

Goro shrugged away this question. All it meant for him was that once the area was secure he could invite in Fire Nation Settlers to repopulate the village. He might even get to rule it permanently as a military mayor! It was not the most glamorous post, or the most profitable, but it certainly beat staying back home and working in his father's shop in the slums of the Fire Nation Capitol.

_Yes, this village will make a good outpost. I can even make it profitable; the Army will need wood for construction projects, and that I can supply readily. _

When he and his men finally reached the doorway of the Village Hall, six or so old Earth folk - two men and four women - emerged. The village elders, Goro suspected. In small villages like this it was common for the inhabitants to pick a few trusted members to make decisions for them as a council, and usually the oldest members were included.

"Gather these elders in front of the building, and go inform the others in the village to meet here as well", Goro ordered to his soldiers.

Three of them first grabbed the elders and dragged them out to the space in front of the Village Hall, while two other soldiers went to the six Longhouses to gather the villagers around me. When they were all gathered, they would have seen Captain Goro and the soldiers under his command standing in front of their Village Hall like triumphant conquerors.

Full of pride, the Army Captain gave his announcement to the villagers. "Attention villagers of Gaipan! I am Captain Goro of the Fire Nation Army! On orders of General Bujing and Fire Lord Ozai, Gaipan is now annexed by the Fire Nation and all of you - as well as any other inhabitants of Gaipan, are colonial subjects! It is best for you all to accept this and obey our rule; any disobedience will be crushed, and there is no use in leaving because soon the whole world will be under the Fire Nation's enlightened rule."

The villagers all looked afraid and saddened, and a few seemed angry. One of them, a woodsman, strode out to address the Fire Nation Soldier.

"What will happen to us then?!", he asked, scowling.

Captain Goro smiled. "If you all obey my orders, abide by the law, and engage in gainful work than none of you will have anything to be afraid of. I am told that this village produces a good amount of lumber. That wood will be of use to the Fire Nation Army."

A young girl shouted out. "We don't want to give wood to you nasty soldiers!"

"Who was that?", Goro asked. He noticed that the woodsman's anger quickly turned into fear.

The girl, a young child holding a dolly, emerged from the crowd of villagers. She looked very angry at the men in the red uniforms.

_General Bujing would just kill her on the spot, are a warning to the others._

But Captain Goro was not willing to do that. Instead he looked at the Woodsman. "Is this your daughter?"

The woodsman walked over to her. "She's my younger sister."

Goro nodded. "Well, as punishment for her insolence she will be locked up overnight. You can fetch her in the morning."

"No!" the woodsman shouted as a Firebender grabbed his younger sister and dragged her inside the Village Hall.

Captain Goro addressed his men. "Search their longhouses, and bring back any weapons or tools that can be used as weapons."

His five Firebenders, accompanied by five swordsmen, did just this. With this order completed, Captain Goro lead the rest of his men into the Village Hall. Inside there was a large firepit and two long tables with benches - clearly where the village held feasts for public events. There was a large pot hanging over the fire pit, and a small stairwell leading up to the next story.

"We only need one table for our meals. Move that one on the left up against the wall to free up some space." They did just that, and Captain Goro went up the stairs to the second floor. Here he found six grass sleeping pallets - likely where the village elders slept - and a desk with some reed paper. Next to the desk was a bookshelf with a few dusty old books and scrolls. On the walls were hanging some cooking implements - tea kettles, frying pans, wok pans, wooden rice cookers, stirrers, etc.

_This is where I will sleep, and where the supplies will be stored._

As he looked around, he noticed a ladder. Goro climbed up it, and saw a small attic area. This area had several bags of rice, bags of millet, bags of acorn mash, smoked fish, haunches of dried meats, and barrels of sake. There was enough to last half a year.

This must be the larder. It looks like they communally share their foods. This is convenient; now I won't need to take their food by force. Though I'll probably need to make them provide food for us until the supply line can be established.

Having surveyed the building, he went down to the ground floor to see that the rest of his men returned with the weapons of the village. An assortment of metal and wooden items lay on the feasting table.

"Captain, this is what we found in our search. Fifteen cooking knives, forty wood axes, thirteen hunting bow, two hundred hunting arrows, six clubs, three fishing rods, and two Earth Kingdom style swords, and one Earth Kingdom Army Helm."

Captain Goro walked over to the table to examine the finds. The green conical helm  
looked dusty and old, like it had not seen use in three decades at least.

"Captain, do you want me to arrest the owner of the helm as an enemy soldier?"

Captain Goro shook his head. "How old was he?"

"About fifty, sir."

"Well then I doubt he'll be much of a threat to us. Did you find any Earth Benders among the villagers?"

"No sir. They claimed that the Earth Army drafted anyone with Earth Bending abilities."

Captain Goro grumbled. Then he gave orders for the supply carriers to move the detachment's supplies into the Village Hall in places he dictated. The Messenger Hawks and their cages were placed up in Goro's room, as were the spare weapons and armor. The uniforms and soldiers sleeping bags were stored on the ground floor, with them alternating which four soldiers got to sleep on the pallets on the second story … at least until he could get more for the rest of his men. After all, if all went well this would be an outpost for years to come.

Once it was done, Goro smiled. "It looks like it's time for dinner. How about Roast Badgermole? This village's pantry is well-stocked!"

The men cheered and sat down to smile. Tetsu, the aging healer, began to prepare dinner. But as the others sat down, one of the soldiers walked up to him.

"Captain", he said, still holding the little girl's arm, "what should we do with her?"

Captain Goro looked at this girl. She'd defied him when he annexed the village. "Have her sit in the corner and face it, and make her sit like that until morning."

The soldier did that, and the rest of Captain Goro's men waited for dinner. Son Tetsu arrived with wooden plates piled with hot badgermole slices, steamed rice, and cups of water.

"Who's hungry?"

All the men received their plates and looked at Captain Goro. "Bow your heads, men."

They all bowed their heads reverently, and the Captain spoke.

"Spirits of Fire, glorious ancestors, we thank you for taking us to this place. May our conquest of this settlement bring honor to you and to the Fire Nation. May we turn this into a prosperous colony and a safe waypoint for supply convoys that feed and arm the Army. May we live to see Ba Sing Se fall, and to see our people triumphant. For these things we pray."

He looked up. Most of his soldiers looked reverent, a few looked bored. "Now then, let us repeat the oath."

All the Fire Nation Soldiers then spoke in unison. "My life I give to my country. With my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai and our forefathers before him. With my mind I seek ways to better my country. And with my feet may our March of Civilization continue."

After they said this, it was the signal for the men to finally dig in. They began eating the food, relishing the taste of it.

"Mmm, it's been a month since we've had meat!", one soldier exclaimed.

"A bit salty", another commented.

"It's salted meat, numbskull. It's how these village folk preserve it", the first one responded.

A forth man looked into his meat sadly. "When do you think they'll have a Hawk station up? I want to write home to my wife."

Goro answered. "When the first supply convoy comes you can give them the letter."

A fifth man laughed. "His wife forgot him anyway."

They all chatted on like this, and only Goro noticed that Tetsu went to give a plate of food to the girl they kept imprisoned for the night. The Captain said nothing.

After dinner was eaten, Goro set the watch for his men. Six of them stayed awake to watch the perimeter of the Hall, while the rest got into their sleeping bags and fell into a calm slumber around the fire.

Goro went upstairs to write a message so he could send it by his hawk to the superior officers.

As he was writing it, Tetsu spoke. "This is a good village, don't you think?"

Goro smiled; "Yes, I think so. I just hope my men don't get too bored. But speaking of which, why'd you feed that girl? She won't learn anything if you null the punishment."

"She was hungry. Are you going to arrest me for disobeying orders?"

Goro shook his head. "No, I can't arrest family. Your daughter's spirit wouldn't like that. Wherever it went."

Tetsu became silent. "You're a good man; that's why my daughter married you. Don't feel like you have to be a brute to rule this village. You can get more flies with honey than with vinegar."

Goro just nodded that he heard this, and continued writing his report. While he did so, he remembered his wife Asa and how her laugh could brighten even his worst days.

_I hope all the stuff Tetsu told me about spirits was true, so Asa and my son both live on in the Spirit world. I want to see them again someday. _

He focused his attention back on his report. As much as he misses his wife and wishes she and his son had not both perished in childbirth, Goro knew he still had duties to attend to.

After a few re-writes, he had a report he liked. He attached it to the Hawk and let the bird fly. This village belonged to the Fire Nation, and now it was official.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Captain Goro rose bright and early to greet the duties of the day. He started the morning by getting into his arms and armor. The others on the second floor were waking up as well; Tetsu went downstairs with the tea pot to brew some simple tea for the soldiers to start the day with, and one of the bodyguards went down to wake the rest of the Gaipan Garrison.

"Awake! Awake! Day shift has started!" Some regiments have zhongs or luos to bang in the morning, but most military units in the fire nation still used traditional waking calls.

Sure enough, those soldiers on the night watch went to their sleeping bags to catch up on rest while the rest of the ones awoke with grumbling. They took their morning tea, and ate a breakfast of steamed rice and dried fish, and put on their armor. There was no bath, and the reservoir was too far away to bathe in safely.

_I shall need to have the villagers build a wooden bath, lest my men stink and their clothes become too dirty. I ought to also have them craft some water barrels to catch and store rainwater with. If the bedrock is not too low I will also have a well built so my men will not go thirsty in a siege._

Captain Goro was of the opinion that one could never be too prepared. In fact, he expected this whole day to be about preparation. Gapian was woefully unfortified, as though the people did not expect foreign invaders. Captain Goro had the village, and he would see to it the Fire Nation kept it.

"Tetsu", Goro said to his aged father-in-law, "I think today we'll survey our findings."

Tetsu nodded and walked up to the Captain. "I think that is a good idea. We should also use this chance to try and learn what we can about the people here. After all, we will be living with them so long as we are stationed here."

Goro shrugged. "Alright, though I think you can be too sentimental at times. Remember they are subjects, not neighbors."

As the two began to leave the building, they were greeted at the front door by the woodsman they met yesterday.

"Do you have my sister?", he asked, concerned and clearly trying to swallow his frustration.

Goro realized he completely forgot about her. He turned back inside, "fetch me the Earth Folk girl", he ordered, and his men complied. The girl was brought to the door, pouting but no worse for wear.

"I think she learned her lesson. She's free to go", Captain Goro said as he stepped aside. The girl ran out and hugged her older brother's legs.

As the two began leaving, Goro had an idea. "Halt!", he told them. The two froze in their steps.

"You, woodsman, what is your name?"

"Yong", the man admitted.

"Well Yong, it occurs to me that I need to know the mood of the villagers. Therefore I appoint you as my intermediary; you are to inform me of any concerns, developments, or pressing needs the villagers have."

"Do I have a choice in the matter?", Yong asked, his voice betraying annoyance.

"No you do not, but if you do your duty well you can expect your family to receive extra food rations."

Yong just nodded sullenly.

"Now then", Goro asked, "What can you tell me so far."

"Well, the village is worried about what you will do. Families are hungry because your men took over the building where we communally store our foods, and can not go lumbering because you confiscated their axes."

Goro nodded. "Duly noted."

He then turned inside the building and called to his men, "Sergeant Michio?".

"Yes sir", the sergeant said.

"Pick five men to oversee the woodsmen while they forage for food and harvest lumber in the woods. Give them axes, and keep a close eye on them."

"Yes sir!", Michio says before picking his overseer squad.

Captain Goro turned to Yong. "That is all", he told the subordinate man.

Having done this, Captain Goro walked with Tetsu around the village to inspect it. First, they walked around the outside of the Village Hall and examined it's walls.

"I will need to reinforce the walls of this building from the inside, and carve out arrow slits."

_This building will be the strongpoint in case of an attack._

Tetsu nodded. "Well, you will have no shortage of wood to use."

After looking there, Captain Goro walked down the small road between the six longhouses. Along the way he looked in the open doorways of the buildings and saw families of Earth Kingdom peasants going about their daily lives, preparing their own breakfasts and tending their young and their frail elders. Any who noticed Goro gave him only nervous glances.

"We will eventually need new houses, for when the Fire Nation sends in colonists. It would not due to make these Earth peasants homeless."

Tetsu smiled and nodded. "I am glad you see things that way. They have a right to a roof over their heads, just like anyone else."

We can use the wood to make new houses, and mud bricks from the reservoir. The Fire Nation people are not used to living in communal longhouses like this, so I imagine each longhouse would go to it's own family. Though there's room for the first six colonist families to bring their extended kin, their uncles and cousins and such.

As he continued his walk, Tetsu noted the walls. They could deter wolves and maybe weaker bandits, but against other foes they were not much.

"We will need to eventually build a watch tower at the corners, so the crossbowmen can fire on potential invaders."

"I hope you're not going to request Yuyan archers to man them", Tetsu jested with a smile.

The joke went over Captain Goro's head. "I somehow doubt that General Bujing would grant such a request. No, crossbowmen will suffice."

They walked just outside the village, and looked at the gate. "It's a sturdy gate, at least. When more supplies come in I can hang a Fire Nation Flag over the gatehouse so all know who own this village. I might also see if any of the soldiers are good wood-carvers; a statue of Ozai would surely please the high command."

Tetsu frowned. "To be honest I doubt they even notice we are out here. This is not exactly a critical location."

Grumbling, Captain Goro conceded that this was true. "You are probably right. I should have served in the Navy; at least then I would win some glory when the North Pole is conquered."

"Or get overshadowed by whichever Admiral leads it, all the while at greater risk to yourself and much less comfort", Tetsu countered.

Captain Goro frowned. "You doubt our civilizing mission, do you not?"

Tetsu did not deny this. "I have trouble understanding the purpose of your post. The Earth Kingdom is no threat to us."

Captain Goro shook his head. "There is no glory in peace. Remember that."

With that, he walked back inside the village and back to the Village Hall. He saw his men there, waiting around the table.

"Attention!", he ordered and they stood up to face him. "Men", he continued, "I want one man guarding each of the three gates, with this watch rotating to three different men each day. You three", he pointed to three of his soldiers, "will take the first watch."

They nodded, and the three went to guard the gates with sword in hand.

"The rest of you will drill. This may not be the most exerting post, but we will not get soft."

So for the rest of the day, he drilled his men. They practiced with swords, with bare knuckles, and (for the benders) with firebending. It was somewhat tedious, but he could see them improving the skills that would preserve their lives in a battle or a skirmish.

After a few hours of this, Captain Goro decided to get more practical experience. "Attention men", he addressed them. The men stopped their practice.

"You three", he pointed to three crossbowmen, "we're going hunting. The rest of you, at ease until I return."

As he said this, he and the three crossbowmen went into the woods to look for game to kill. The fresh air filled the Captain's lungs and raised his spirits.

Asa would have loved these woodlands.

The hunting was at first hard, as crossbows have less range than bows and so most animals know to hide. But soon they find the path of a bear. They follow it to a small clearing, and find a large brown bear asleep on the ground.

"This is our chance", Captain Goro instructed his men quietly, "Get into position around the beast, and wait for my command."

They did just that, surrounding it and pointing their bolts at it.

"Fire!"

With that, five crossbow bolts buried themselves into the bear's fur-clad form. It raised it's head and let out a pained roar before falling over dead.

Goro walked over to the beast he killed, feeling proud of himself.

The meat will feed the garrison for a week, and I can tan the fur.

The five of them built a litter with wooden branches, and using it they carried the dead bear back into the village. The villagers gathered at their doorways and watched with sad eyes as the Fire Nation Soldiers returned with a bloody carcass behind them.

In the Village Hall, the soldiers greeted the bear with hoots and claps of approval. They got knives out and went to work gutting the beast, saving the cuts of meat for later use and separating out the offal.

"It's worthless", one soldier said of the guts.

Another protested, "We can make sausage with it!"

"Do you have a sausage press? No."

Captain Goro stepped in. "We can use the offal as fishing bait. Save it for that."

Tetsu carried the cuts, one by one, to the pantry to salt them so they last longer. The only ones left fresh were those cuts of bear meat to be used for the lunch stew.

Captain Goro walked to Yong's longhouse. "Yong", he called, the young woodsman waking up from his place by his campfire to glare at the Fire Nation Captain, "does anyone in this village have tanning abilities?"

Before Yong could answer, an old lady sitting near him raised her hand. "I do."

Goro threw the bear pelt at her. "Turn this into a usable fur. And do not damage it."

She nodded. Goro was about to leave, then he got an idea. "If you do a good job, expect a portion of bear meat for your family."

Having said that, he went back to the Village Hall. It was more hours of drilling the men.

Later that day, the logging team returned with the five Soldiers assigned to overseer duty. Sergeant Michio gave a report of the day from his end; the loggers managed to turn one large tree into several wooden planks.

After that, the night watch took their shift again and the rest of the soldiers went to sleep. Little did they know there would be a surprise in store for them tomorrow.


End file.
